FAQs

Our standard has been designed to align with and support the BSI Nature Investment Standards programme, with a particular focus on supporting compliance with BSI Flex 705 Community Engagement & Inclusion (yet to be published) and BSI Flex 701 Nature Markets Overarching Principles and Framework.

We are encouraging all UK-based Nature Markets 'Schemes and Codes' to voluntarily adopt our Certification Criteria, which is available for them to utilise, under open source, Creative Commons licensing arrangements.

Our Standard was developed with the following codes and credit schemes as formal partners to our project:

• CreditNature - Nature Investment Certificates
• Peatland Code
• Saltmarsh Code
• Woodland Carbon Code
• Wilder Carbon Standard on Nature and Climate
• UK Carbon Code of Conduct

We have open-sourced our standard to maximise levels of adoption, reduce duplicated efforts and assist with the BSI Nature Investment Standards mission to achieve greater alignment and consistency across natural capital market infrastructure in the UK.

This means that you don't need to seek permission to use our standard within your own project development and due diligence governance or (if you run a relevant code or credit scheme) within your own standards and certification processes.

You will, however, need to seek a licensing arrangement with the NFCA to use NFCA Community Inclusion Standard branding in your promotional material / digital listings.

Scottish Land Commission sets out clear guidance on identifying community benefits and how they can be delivered.

The SLC have now published a comprehensive 'route-map' to support nature-based projects (which can include the developers, project managers, community engagement specialists, local authority if relevant and communities) work in partnership to develop a written agreement with regards to community benefit.

For more information on how our Community Inclusion Standard relates to the work of the SLC - see this overview.